Soteras water board appointment fails to gain Senate confirmation

The appointment of Calabasas resident Alex Soteras to the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board appears to have been a short lived one. Although Soteras says he is still a member of the nine-member panel, the governor's office is saying he's been out since November.

Soteras, 47, was appointed to the board in July by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. A term typically lasts four years once the appointee is confirmed by the California Senate.

According to the governor's office, Soteras was only filling a vacancy created by the resignation of Hamid Nahai in November 2007.

Soteras was appointed last summer and filled the remainder of Nahai's term, which ended Sept. 30. Soteras continued through a 60-day grace period and his last day was Nov 29.

Both governor's office and water board representatives say Soteras did not receive Senate confirmation and was not reappointed.

Soteras believes otherwise.

"Everyone appointed has to go through the Senate rules committee," Soteras said. "Sometimes it can take a year, and I'm just going through that just like the thousands of other appointees. You serve on the board during that process and that's what I'm doing."

The Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board is one of nine statewide agencies charged with establishing water quality and discharge standards and enforcing federal and state clean water statutes. The board holds 10 public meetings a year to make decisions on water quality matters.

Rachel Cameron, a press aide handling the issue for the governor's office, said she's not sure why Soteras wouldn't have known he was only finishing out the Nahai term.

"I don't know what specific conversations took place. I just know that he was appointed to that term," Cameron said.

According to regulations, Soteras cannot be reappointed to the seat for at least one year.

Soteras acknowledged that he was filling an abbreviated term, but said he believes he's in the process of being reappointed by the governor.

"I served for three months, and then, it's a mechanical thing, the governor reappoints the same person for the next term," Soteras said. "That's what's happening right now. And I don't want anything to jeopardize that reappointment."

Soteras was not at the board's last meeting, which was Dec. 11 in Simi Valley.

Terry Dipple, executive director of the Malibu-Las Virgenes Council of Governments, was at the Dec. 11 meeting and questioned board members why Soteras was not in attendance.

"They were very tight lipped about it," Dipple said.

Stephen Cain, water board spokesperson, said the last meeting Soteras attended was a previous meeting in Los Angeles on Nov. 20.

A source told The Acorn that when Soteras was appointed last summer, he received strong backing from Calabasas, Hidden Hills and Malibu, cities that were looking for a "friendly voice" to represent them in a dispute with the board over who's at fault for the pollution of Malibu Creek. The water board has been pressuring the cities to reduce harmful effluent into the creek. The cities feel they are doing the best they can to keep the bacteria out of the watershed and that the clean water mandates being imposed by the regional board will be costly for taxpayers.

Agoura Hills is locked in the same dispute over creek pollution, but did not support Soteras in his bid for the board due to deep animosities between the Agoura City Council and its Chamber of Commerce.

Soteras, vice president of NAI Capital Commercial Real Estate, is a leading figure in the Agoura/ Oak Park/Conejo Valley Chamber and the current director of the United Chambers of Commerce of the San Fernando Valley.

Calls to State Senator Fran Pavley, a former mayor of Agoura Hills with strong connections to the governor's office, went unreturned.

The L.A. regional board currently only has seven members. Cameron said the governor's office is actively working to fill the two vacancies.